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This disappointing decision has very real long and short-term consequences:

Money down the drain

Responsible builders have been preparing for the 2016 target for years, so backing down from it means a waste of not only effort on their part, but also money. As stated in an open letter response from more than 200 businesses, this type of abrupt change undermines “industry confidence in Government and will now curtail investment in British innovation and manufacturing.” Having no, or unclear, benchmarks means uncertainty, which means even more cost.

All of this uncertainty means confusion about what standards industry research should be working toward, which means fewer businesses are capable of investing in innovation. No standards also means no incentive to improve and no reward for delivering what used to be labelled as an achievement.

Not all is lost. The progress achieved so far and the learning that has been integrated into standardpractice means that the momentum toward energysustainability will not stop dead. Many clients are continuing to maintain strong standards, even in the face of the uncertainty, because they know that sustainability is about more than just standards, it’s part of the long game.